News

Two new entries on child marriage have been published on the Edinburgh Private Law Blog. They are both written by Katy Macfarlane, senior lecturer in child and family law. She writes: "The minimum age at which a person can marry in Scotland is 16. This is set out in section 1 of the Marriage (Scotla

Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk and Attorney General Victoria Prentis have ordered an independent inquiry into the circumstances and handling of Andrew Malkinson’s case after his conviction for rape was quashed by the Court of Appeal last month. The inquiry will investigate the handling and the rol

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. House where Hitler was born to become police station and human rights training centre, Austria says

Indigenous women who were forcibly sterilised under Canada's eugenics programme have been granted permission to bring a first-of-its-kind class-action lawsuit in the province of Quebec. Justice Lukasz Granosik, of the Superior Court of Quebec, this week ruled that litigants UT and MX can bring the s

Police investigating an unexpected blackout affecting thousands of people have pointed the finger at a fish dropped by a bird. Sayreville Police Department in New Jersey shared a photo on Facebook of the fish which had apparently landed on a local transformer, dubbing him 'Gilligan'.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has been accused of violating a Scottish government agreement that prohibits the use of zero-hours contracts, which are often exploitative. In a report viewed by The Herald for 2021/22, 26 staff members at SCTS were found to be on zero-hours contracts

The office manager of an Edinburgh property firm who embarked on a luxury lifestyle after obtaining more than £900,000 through embezzlement and fraud has been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. Emma Hunt, 37, spent thousands on parties, hospitality at sporting events, hotel stays, a

Hastings Legal has recently expanded with several new staff members, including the appointment of director Tim Taylor.

The Scottish Sentencing Council has finalised its first ever offence guideline, covering the statutory offences of causing death by driving. The guideline aims to bring greater consistency in sentencing and assist public understanding of how these highly complex and sensitive cases are dealt with by

The final report of the Hearings System Working Group (HSWG) was published on 25th May. The report proposes a significant redesign of the existing children’s hearings system in Scotland. Dr Alyson Evans of the University of Strathclyde, an academic specialist in the children’s hearings s

China is "dismantling" the principle of 'one country, two systems' and eroding Hong Kong's autonomy, democratic principles and fundamental freedoms, the EU has said in a new report. The European Commission and the high representative have adopted the 25th annual report to the European Parliament and

Abertay University's LLB degree has been ranked first in Scotland and the UK for teaching satisfaction in a major survey. The National Student Survey (NSS) is the sector’s key measure on student satisfaction – Abertay ranked third among Scotland’s 18 universities in the 2023 result

A solicitor has labelled the delays in Scotland's criminal justice system as a "national crisis", highlighting an instance where a court sat for over 10 hours. Matthew McGovern, who shed light on his experience at Hamilton Sheriff Court on social media, said on BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland 

Network Rail is facing court action over the Aberdeenshire train derailment in which three people lost their lives. Driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, tragically died when the train came off the tracks at Carmont, south of Stonehaven, o

Italian cheesemakers have developed a microchip as small as a grain of rice to be used in their battle against cheese counterfeiters. The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium (PRC) said microtransponders installed in over 120,000 parmesan rinds to date are among "new methods" being deployed to help custom